Truck leaks chemical, closing U.S. 50

March 14, 2003|BY A SUN STAFF WRITER

A 4,000-gallon tanker truck leaked corrosive chloride yesterday, shutting a heavily traveled stretch of U.S. 50 in Lanham near the Capital Beltway as hazardous-materials crews worked to clean up the spill.

The driver of the truck was traveling west on U.S. 50 between Lottsford Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Prince George's County about 6 p.m. when he noticed the truck leaking ferric chloride, an acidic chemical used for wastewater treatment and etching metal.

The spill triggered a Level 3 alert - the most serious hazmat response - bringing in resources across the county to contain the spill and prevent it from entering nearby streams. A second tanker took the remaining fuel from the damaged one.